The Darkest Light: Book 1 of The Inferno Prophecy

by Mulholland, Daniel

  Amazing. I think to myself.

  I think so too. Thor speaks in my mind. I chuckle. The others look at me curiously.

  "I'm sure you're wondering how I'm still alive and came to be here." Gandrea states. We all nod.

  "You're all aware or the Prophecy? Good. There was more to my vision than what now remains. In the vision, I saw this very meeting. But so much more. In the vision, I saw myself training the next dragon born, Katie. But I was also given a much more important task. To show Thomas how to gift the ethereal. The greatest ability of the Lightbringer. The first Lightbringer, Achilles, lost this power when the war was won. With the loss of this ability, he also lost access to his light. And so, it was left to me to show the next Lightbringer, the final Lightbringer. The war is fated to end with us. So, Thor and I decided to flee and go into hiding, to wait for you, Thomas."

  I take a moment to digest this. A thought comes to me. And with it a dread. But I don't speak of it yet.

  "Katie, the first thing I need to do is show you how to summon your ethereal dragon. That is the first step of any dragon born. I want you to enter your well, pull on your fire. Don't try to summon it to the physical world, I want you to just feel it, let it flow through you, and when you feel it I want you to open your eyes." She tells Katie.

  I'm watching Katie now, her eyes are closed, I can see her concentrating. Through the ethereal I can see her fire rising. It wakes a few minutes, but she opens her eyes and gasps. I look to where she's staring. On the rug in the middle of the room is a small dragon, golden light. It's made up of smoke, constantly shifting. It moved towards her. Katie reaches out for her dragon, but her hand passes through it.

  "It's just ethereal right now Katie, you won't be able to touch it. But you can speak to it." She tells Katie.

  Katie closes her eyes again, again in deep concentration. A minute later she opens her eyes, a broad smile on her face. She's nodding.

  "Her name is Minosthin" Katie tells us.

  Gandrea claps. "A male and a female. A future for the Dragons perhaps." Thor is purring, Thomas can also feel a slight vibration coming from the smoky version of Minosthin.

  Gandrea looks to Thomas now. "I need to speak with you in private. One final part of the vision. I think you know what it is I need to tell you. The cost of gifting the light."

  I nod and follow her into one of the adjoining rooms.

  Thirty-Two – The Fire, The Wings and The Hero

  Thomas had been gone for a few minutes now and Katie was starting to worry. Gandrea and Thomas shared a look as she had told him there was something else he needed to know. She had guessed that he already knew it, and Thomas nodded. But she could see a deep sadness in his eyes, his face stony and unmoving.

  She had never seen a look like that on his face, his beautiful rounded face. It broke her heart to see something causing him such distress. He was gone ten minutes now, Katie was pacing.

  So many things were running through her mind. She kept thinking about her dragon, it had returned to her aura now, being ducked back in like a vacuum. Minosthin, she had instantly started calling her Thin, her dragon seemed happy with that, purring at her.

  Katie hadn't known much about the first battle and the first Lightbringer, just a few words from Thomas here or there. She knew a little more now, Achilles. He had had complete power over the light. He had lost his power when the light had lost its abilities after the battle, she couldn't imagine a battle so fierce and with so much power used that it left a void where a well-used to be. She only had access to her fire for a few months now, but she couldn't think of a world where it wasn't there; waiting for her.

  It was another few minutes before Gandrea returned to the hall, she took her seat in the armchair and her dragon crawled back up onto her shoulder and lowered his head, closing his eyes. Gandrea's eyes were swollen red, and even now tears were rolling. Katie didn't understand why. But she waited for Thomas to come back. It took him a few more minutes, the entire time she watched Gandrea as she despaired, the tears never stopped. The silence in the living room pierced only by the sniffing of the old dragon born.

  Thomas entered the room through the door at the bottom of the hall. He just stood in the doorway considering the room. He was looking at each of us. He looked exhausted. His face was deathly pale. He walked over slowly, standing in the middle of the rug between the chairs arrayed before the fire.

  He was looking at Katie now, and all of a sudden, she felt sadness. Her dragon understands. Its head was raised as it was whimpering. Katie could also see Thomas's light, dimmer than usual, withdrawn.

  "Gandrea wanted to tell me this first. But I think it's something that everyone needs to know. There will be a cost to pay for all of this. The gifting of the light. The defeat of the darkness." He stopped for a moment, taking a moment to look each of us in the eye. "If we win... I’ll..." His voice broke and he grimaced. I saw a tear fall. "I'll lose my power."

  Gray gasped. Wident was nodding slightly, a deeply sad look on his face, he must have guessed. But Thomas only had eyes for Katie. She sobbed a little. Her thoughts went back to Achilles, and her own thought on losing her power. Thomas had grown up as a magi, his entire life spent using his light, feeling it there. And he would have to sacrifice it. He's already given more than anyone could ask of a man, and now he was being asked to sacrifice his very essence, his way of life, to defeat the darkness.

  Katie went to him now, wrapping her arms around him. She kissed him softly and buried her head in his chest.

  "It's not fair" She whispers to him, "It's just not fair."

  "I know." His voice softer than she had ever heard it.

  "Thomas, does this change anything?" It was Phil asking this. A question that was on everyone's mind.

  "No. This changes nothing. Get some rest." Thomas stated. He led Katie to the end of the living room and through the door he had gone with Gandrea. The room was big. A huge king sized bed lay at the edge of the room, a desk to the left, two large armchairs in the bottom corner. A window with a view out of the fiery desert.

  We went straight to bed. We didn't make love. I just held Thomas as his mind ran away with everything he had learned today. He didn't cry, he wasn't angry, he didn't rage or complain. He just accepted it with the tiredness brought on by an endless battle against an enemy with no known weakness.

  Katie felt bad for him, and so did her dragon. A crushing sadness enveloped her as her own grief was compounded with that of Minosthin's, her dragon seemed to have a close bond with the light, and now it faced an existence without a vessel - there would be no more Lightbringers, it ended with Thomas.

  Katie woke with the sun bathing her and Thomas, it was so very hot here in Arizona. Thomas must have felt her wake because suddenly he was leaving over her and kissing her. They stumbled out of bed together and took some new clothes out of their rucksack. Their suits armour lay in heaps behind the door.

  They got dressed quickly and went out into the big living room. Phil and Gandrea were awake, Phil was cooking breakfast. He gave Thomas and Katie a nod in greeting and went back to cooking.

  "Good morning you two, are you ready to get started?" She asked them. Thomas nodded to her to go first, Katie took a seat next to Gandrea.

  "Perfect. First, we need to show you how to cast. It's different for us, we don't have our own well. The ethereal form of our Dragons take up residence there so there is no room for light. For us to cast we must summon it through our Dragons, not directly like a normal magus would." She told Katie. Katie just nodded, taking it all in. "Go to your well. Call your dragon. You need to both draw the fire at the same time. When you both have a pull on the fire, and only then, I want you to summon it into the physical."

  Katie dives into her well. She can feel the fire all around her, she calls out to the void summoning Thin. Thin responds sleepily, but comes. Soon they're both there in the void, standing in front of her well of fire. They begin drawing on the fire. She can feel the heat coursing throu
gh her veins and she can feel as her dragon strengthens. A few moments pass and suddenly a new energy comes to her. The fire is apart of her she realises. She spent all that time training with the scholar at the safe house, she always thought of the fire as a separate entity. But it wasn't. She opened her eyes.

  In her hand was a ball of fire flickering, strong. She smiled and looked around at Thomas. He was smiling at her. Her smile widened. She'd done it. She jumped to her feet and punched the air. Thomas and Gandrea laughed.

  Thomas takes a seat next to Gandrea. "Okay Thomas. You know how to imbue objects with castings? To create a crafting?" She asks him, he nods. "Okay. Take my hands." Thomas does.

  Surprise flashes across his face. They sit in silence now watching each other. They remain this way for over thirty minutes. By the time they come out of their trance, the others have joined them for breakfast.

  "Wow." Thomas says, a big smile on his face.

  "There's only three people in existence that know these craftings now. Use them wisely. I'm sure you already know what to do with the first one?" She asks him.

  "Oh yes. That will change this war." He tells her, his smile widening even more.

  Thomas came over and sat by Katie now, taking her hand. He just held it and watched her silently.

  So many thoughts were running through her head right now. Her entire life had changed over the course of the last few months, and now she was learning how to master her own abilities. She was excited. But her excitement was being overshadowed by Thomas's situation, having to sacrifice his power to save everyone - and even then, their victory was not guaranteed.

  She was also curious about what craftings Gandrea had taught Thomas, she was watching him with her eyebrows raised. He chuckled.

  "She showed me two craftings. One of them is a ward, it makes whatever is inside the ward impervious to all magic - on one condition, that the light within the ward is unchanging. If a magi casts from within the ward, the ward will stop working. The second is a container. A container for light. A magi's power is based on a casters ability to summon as much light as possible, a container like the one she showed me will make summoning double the power of any magi easy and quick." Thomas explains to her. She lets it sink in for a moment, considering all the possibilities this could be used. She could understand the effectiveness of the light storage, but the use of a ward for a magi that prevents a magi from casting? She couldn't figure out how that would be useful in battle.

  They are lunch, all of them making small talk. Katie told everyone a little about the magic events of her childhood, the uncontrollable fires. Phil told everyone about his early days as a warrior, he had fought a black cloak that had out powered him in a heartbeat, and so he had devoted his life to sword fighting. Melanie and Gray's stories were similar, both motivated to be the strongest caster of their houses, and both had achieved their goals. So very like each other. Gandrea told them of her travels, her interactions with the light and her dragon, her methods for exploring the ethereal. She also told them of a continuation of the first Prophecy, a vision she cannot yet tell them of. That piqued everyone's curiosity, a little fear - if there was more war to come after this battle, they would face it without Thomas's power.

  And then lunch was over and Gandrea was beckoning Katie over. A huge smile on her face

  "It's time to summon your dragon." She tells Katie. Thor raising its head, interested.

  Thor watched on as Thin's excitement boiled over into the ethereal.

  "Remember what I showed you last night? How to bring your dragon through the ethereal? Good. Now remember what I showed you earlier, calling the ethereal into the physical? Just combine them. Call your dragon into the ethereal, let it flow through you. Then pull the string of ethereal through as you open your eyes, just hold onto it softly as you leave your well." She explains to Katie slowly. Katie nodding.

  Katie immediately dives into her well. She does everything she was already showed and told. It takes a few minutes, but when she's ready, she opens her eyes. She can feel the tug through the ethereal. It's a strange feeling, her energy kind of disappearing as her fire flows out of her.

  It gathers in a small pool on the floor, but the flames begin to flicker and rise, and over the course of a few moments the fire begins to take shape of a small golden dragon, thin long leathery wings stretching out. Thin is testing her form. Walking slowly around in circles, her wings flapping slightly and her tail flicking.

  And then she stops, raising her head and taking in everyone. She can see looks of surprise on each of the groups faces as Thin greets them, Gandrea smiling and nodding knowingly. Thomas is beaming.

  And then her dragon comes to her, crawling up her leg and along her torso until it's resting on her holder. She feels the warm wetness of its nose as Thin nudges her softly. She smiles and sits back. Drained of energy.

  "You'll get used to the tiredness Katie, it's a lot for your mind to hand the first time." Gandrea tells Katie.

  I want to fly. The voice is inside her head, Thin. Katie smiles and jumps up, her dragon dives off her shoulder, wings flapping and glides straight to the front door. Katie follows Thin out into the desert, her dragon already big. She climbs up onto its back clumsily. At the base of the dragons neck is a small, smooth layer of flesh. She takes a seat, two small spikes either side of the neck is wear she rests her feet.

  Her dragon starts moving. Katie is vibrating as Thin's wings begin to beat. And suddenly the dragon crouches low and jumps, pushing off with its back feet and they're in the air. Katie is holding on tightly as Thin's huge wings unfurl fully and begin beating at the air with their immense power. The wind was in her face now, he hair billowing out around her. She was laughing. She could feel the glee emanating off her dragon.

  They flew for a few hours, they must have travelled miles and miles before flying back toward the little hut. The sun was beginning to set over the endless desert.

  Her dragon had shrunk back down the size of a cat by the time her feet hit the sand. Her legs were wobbly and she walked unsteadily back into the hut.

  Everyone was waiting for her. She ran straight to Thomas, giving him a big kiss. She quickly told them all about her trip. They were all happy for her.

  "Okay Thomas. It's time." Gandrea, calling Thomas to her. He nodded and sat next to her. Taking her hands.

  Katie watched on as Thomas entered a trance. His facial expression constantly shifting. Shock. Frustration. And finally, a soft smile of understanding. His eyes opened.

  "So easy. I can't believe I didn't think of it before." He tells Gandrea.

  "I know. But it's difficult to think of something, no matter how basic a thought, if your mind doesn't know it's a possibility. It took me a long time to figure it out even after my vision." She replies.

  She stands up now, clapping her hands.

  "Okay. There's one last thing. Come!" The last word booking out.

  The top door in the room was thrown open and a man stepped into the hall. Tall with broad shoulders. A grim face. One long, thick scar stretching across his heavily wrinkled face.

  "This is Achilles, first Lightbringer." Gandrea tells them.

  Thirty-Three – The Gift

  My mind was reeling. So much knowledge taken in during just a few hours. New craftings, the possibilities for their use endless. I had already come up with a huge plan based on one of the craftings. The second crafting would play quite a big part in my own battle, I knew.

  After Katie had left with Thin, I had modified my current ring crafting. Engraving a small symbol underneath, in direct contact with my skin, using a fine beam of electricity and fire. The ring was now a container for light, I had already begun pulling light into it. Taking it slow as to not disrupt my own ethereal.

  And then she had shown me how to gift the light. I had slapped myself, mentally in the ethereal, as the simple answer presented itself to me. The light had been weakened during the first battle because of it. I had felt the effects when I had ta
ken the light from Donal. I had even used it as a Base when I had forced energy through my own limbs when fighting the army of black cloaks.

  It was so very simple. It had taken me a few minutes to pull out a slither of light and snip it from my main pool, but then it had been free. A small globe of light attached to no one. She had then shown me how to guide the light into another's pool.

  She had explained to me that every human has a well, but only the rare few are born with an occupied well. It's a simple matter of slipping in a detached globe of light.

  And then she had called out Achilles. Leaving me in shock once more. The first Lightbringer. I walked to him and shook his hand.

  "It's an honour to meet you." I told him. He nodded, a small smile. He has lived since the first battle. I was filled with questions.

  "The honour is all mine Thomas." He replied, shaking my hand.

  I look at him through the ethereal then. His light was still there. Outside of his body, similar to mine. But more of a chain around his neck. I noticed it wasn't roughing him. Just out of reach. I imagine what that must feel like. What it will feel like for me.